The Men’s Hero Hockey India League (HIL) made a return at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, Chennai, and the host team, Accord Tamil Nadu Dragons, beat Hyderabad Toofans in the opening game. The thrilling match swung like a pendulum as both sides ended with the scoreline of 3-3 after regulation time but it was the Dragons who walked away with a crucial bonus point winning the match 4-2 in the shootout with exceptional two saves from young goalkeeper Prince Deep Singh.
For Dragons, Uttam Singh (4′), Thomas Sorsby (9′), and Karthi Selvam (32′) slotted goals, while for Hyderabad Toofans, Amandeep Lakra (12′, 18′) scored a brace and Arthur De Sloover (37′) added to the scoreline in regulation time.
Just four minutes into the match , Dragons earned a penalty corner and following that Blake Govers flicked from the first battery that Uttam smartly guided into the right corner of the net, scoring the first goal of the HIL 2026 season. Dragons kept pressing, and momentum stayed with them as Thomas Sorsby exploited space inside the Toofans’ circle and beat custodian Jean Paul Danneberg, scoring a field goal to extend the lead to 2-0.
However, Toofans, last season’s runners-up, refused to bow down early. In the 12th minute of the first quarter, young Amandeep Lakra, who impressed last season with Toofans, opened the account with an impressive penalty corner strike to beat veteran David Harte.
Lakra continued his form, and just two minutes into the second quarter, he struck again from the second battery with a blistering drag flick, beating Harte once again, completing his brace, and leveling the scoreline. Afterwards, both Toofans and Dragons kept pressing towards each other’s half but didn’t find any chance to net.
The early minutes of the penultimate quarter saw the Dragons regaining control through a moment of pure athleticism and teamwork. Tom Craig aggressively pressed from the left channel towards and dove from the 23-meter line after losing control to pass the ball to Uttam, who dribbled past the Toofans’ defenders before cutting the ball to local boy Karthi Selvam, and he deflected the ball inside the goal, and the Dragons led 3-2.
Well, Toofans didn’t have to wait long, as Arthur De Sloover netted an equalizer after Rohit Singh’s strike was deflected by Harte’s pads, but De Sloover cleverly pushed the ball on the rebound from the baseline to level the scoreline.
The final quarter was a masterclass in goalkeeping, and Harte showcased his reflexes by stopping goal-bound efforts of Toofans. Both teams didn’t score any goals, and the opening game headed to a shootout.
For the Dragons, Ephraums, Govers, Uttam, and Muhammad Raheel converted their chances in the shootout. Prince Deep Singh, who was trusted to guard the goalpost for Dragons, showed incredible nerve and saved twice. While for the Toofans, Zachary Wallace managed to score, converting a penalty stroke and scoring his attempt in the shootout.
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